


Where words fell like water

by spiteandmalice



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Engineer Hux, Kylux Big Bang, Kylux Big Bang 2019, M/M, Prince Kylo, Romance, Romantic misunderstandings, kylux au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 11:57:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21373783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiteandmalice/pseuds/spiteandmalice
Summary: It seems like a straightforward transaction: Hux will provide the desert planet with the technology they need, and get a chunk of credits in return.He didn't anticipate a meddling Supreme Leader, some native fruit and a certain Prince Kylo to interfere with those plans.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 9
Kudos: 85
Collections: Kylux Big Bang 2019





	Where words fell like water

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: 
> 
> Of interest to the two other people who enjoy fictional SW geology: in this fic Kylo’s planet is part of the Apatros system in the Outer Rim known for mining, Apatros itself being the homeworld of Darth Bane. Snoke sells the ore to the Outer Rim Oreworks Company. 
> 
> I want to give all my adoration and thanks to the wonderful artist and prompter of this piece, she’s on Twitter as @somethingsimp19, please show her some love.
> 
> And minor warning for the tag 'arranged marriage' they don't agree to become married but fully consent to anything else.

  


Hux had expected the heat, but was unprepared for the onslaught of the sun this late into the evening. He stepped off the shuttle, and into the bright wall of sunshine. The sun was setting, but he still had to raise a hand to shield his eyes.

What he’d seen from the sky of this planet, called Gaineamh to the locals, were a number of similar looking cities, dark brown brick, some greenery, roof tiles winking in the late evening sun, then nothing but desert between them. 

Mitaka, his assistant, had arrived the day before, to deliver HuxTech’s paperwork and to set up a space for Hux to work on the revisions to his blueprints he’d have to make for this planet. Hux was here for as long as it took to alter his ‘AquaTech’ technology into a feasible water delivery system for this planet, but as he squinted in the sunshine he hoped it was going to be a quick visit. His homeworld of Arkanis was rainy, cool and overcast 300 days of the year which he much preferred to this relentless heat.

A servant had led him from the shuttle to the elaborate hall that seemed to be Snoke’s throne room. Mitaka had described Snoke as an elder of the planet, the de-facto ruler despite his ward being the legitimate heir. Mitaka had warned Hux that Snoke was...unusual. 

Hux had seen many different creatures and people in his time travelling from planet to planet for work, but as he approached Snoke’s throne he felt a sort of sneaking coldness slide down his spine as Snoke appraised him, like the first touch of frost in winter. 

A number of people were lounging around the room, each draped in gauzy, sheer fabric that left very little to the imagination. Hux counted a dozen bright colours, they looked like tropical birds that had come to roost. Hux was unsure what their roles were, were they concubines? Attendants? Slaves or servants? Bodyguards? 

He wished Mitaka had been allowed in the room with him. He felt a dozen sets of eyes on him, so he straightened his spine and strode up the long room with purpose. If he’d learnt one thing in negotiations, and the unfortunate relationship he had with his father: hide any weakness. 

The only person in the room not in bright colours, and clearly not relaxing was sitting on the floor next to Snoke. He had thick dark hair, face dotted with tiny moles, a plush mouth set in a sulk. He was dressed in all black, his eyes closed, face scrunched up as if contemplating a problem in his mind. His eyes snapped open as Hux reached Snoke and he scowled up at Hux. 

Hux resisted scowling back. Who did this man think he was? Hux was invited here on Snoke’s behest and this concubine was scowling at him? 

Snoke rose from his chair to clasp Hux on the arm. “Young Armitage Hux! It is my pleasure to welcome you to Gaineamh! I hope we can achieve a mutually beneficial relationship.”

“Just Hux is fine, thank you for your warm welcome. I also hope we achieve our mutual goals.”

Hux gave the customary answering touch to Snoke’s arm and Snoke sat back down on his throne. Hux was mildly proud he hadn't flinched when Snoke's wizened arm had touched his. 

Snoke's gaze was unwavering, intense in a way that threatened to send a shiver through Hux. Hux felt just from that gaze alone that Snoke was not a man he wanted as an enemy. 

“Excellent. You must be tired after your journey, tonight I’ll let you get your bearings and we’ll start the discussions in the morning. My apprentice here will show you to your rooms.”

The scowling man’s brow furrowed even more at that comment, but rose gracefully to his feet in one fluid motion.

“Of course Supreme Leader, I’d be happy to.” The man gritted out. 

Hux followed the man out of the room and attempted not to notice how the almost translucent fabric left the man’s chest, arms and legs virtually bare to Hux’s gaze. He was powerfully built, broad-shouldered and muscular in a way Hux usually associated with those who worked outside for a living, rather than spent their life in a palace.

“This is your room. Breakfast is at eight, negotiations at eleven. Someone will come get you for both. Goodnight.” The man turned to leave, his task complete.

“And you are?”

The man stopped walking and turned around.

“Are you talking to me?”

Hux nodded. The man tilted his chin up, haughty and proud. 

“I am the Supreme Leader’s chosen apprentice-” he began slowly and pompously, voice booming in the small corridor.

Hux interrupted him. “Yes, yes, I heard that from Snoke. What is your _ name _.”

The man looked shocked.

“No one speaks to me like that! I am the Supreme Leader’s-”

“Apprentice. Yes. My name is Hux. What is yours?” Hux spoke slowly, as if to a child.

“Kylo. Kylo Ren.”

Hux couldn't hide his surprise when he recognised the name. Snoke's apprentice was also the Prince of Gaineamh? 

“I’m pleased to meet you, Kylo.” 

Hux offered his hand and Kylo took it and shook it slowly, as if unused to doing so.

“I’m going to go get cleaned up Kylo, but could you maybe show me around then?”

“I don’t know if I’m allowed.” Kylo seemed nervous at such a mundane task, and Hux wondered if his first impression of Snoke was true: did he rule by fear rather than respect.

“But you’re his apprentice. Surely keeping a guest happy is important to him?”

“...I suppose so.”

“Great, give me a few minutes.”

“What, I’m meant to wait out here like a servant?”

Hux grinned. “You can wait inside if you want, unpack my bags for me perhaps? Fluff up my pillows?”

He turned then, pushed his door open and left the stunned prince still standing in the corridor. 

\---

When Hux woke the next morning it was from vague dreams of the prince. He lazily stroked himself, feeling slightly guilty about fantasizing about someone he’d only just met. But the prince had flirted with Hux on his impromptu tour, and well, Hux had always been a sucker for a pretty mouth and dark eyes. He came with a grunt, and lay panting for a moment. 

Right. Get up. Shower. Caf. Negotiations. 

Negotiations bore Hux, always have, always will. He’s an engineer, it’s far more interesting to take an item apart and put it back together _ better _, than to worry about the minute details of contracts and credits. But until Brendol got off his lazy arse and decided to actually leave Arkanis and do some work for once in his life, it was up to Hux to be the signatory.

Snoke isn’t present, and Hux is glad. Their brief meeting the night before had been enough frankly. His team of lawyers are present though, on the left side of a large table, as well as the prince.

HuxTech’s lawyers sit on the opposite side of the table, but Hux ignores them and sits next to Kylo. There’s various other dignitaries there, leaders of the cities of Gaineamh and two ambassadors from the nearby twin moons, Gealach I and II, that would also benefit from the supply of fresh water AquaTech would bring Gaineamh.

It wasn’t just the hot, dry climate that made Gaineamh different from Arkanis, but the lack of vegetation. Even within Hux’s home, there were carefully manicured trees in large pots in the corridors, ceramic pots trailing flowers and vines from high shelves in every room. 

This room looked bare and empty in comparison. Hux can’t wait to leave.

Kylo greets everyone, apologises for Snoke’s absence, and the negotiations begin.

The lawyers start to discuss the details amongst themselves, and Kylo seems to amuse himself by flirting with one of the city leaders while the other dignitaries chat quietly to each other. 

Hux grits his teeth and tries to ignore Kylo, cursing himself for sitting next to him. Maybe the flirting last night was just how Kylo communicated with people. Hux shouldn’t have thought anything of it.

Hux takes out his datapad and stares at it for a moment, attempting to remain oblivious to Kylo’s soft laughs and his body language, sprawling back in his chair, legs splayed, as if to say ‘come join me, I’m right here’. 

Hux turns away, powers up the datapad and gets to work on what he’s here for: the tech. He’s not here to stare at Kylo. 

AquaTech has been in use on Arkanis for almost six years now without a hitch. It takes water vapour from the very outer atmosphere of the planet, purifies it, then forms rain clouds where required with the flick of a switch. Taking the vapour from the outer atmosphere didn’t affect the planet’s natural weather systems or climate.

It was a modified wormhole technology, combined with a pressure technology he’d originally designed for missile guiding systems. Gaineamh didn’t have the outer atmosphere to take adequate vapour from, due to years of on-planet mining pumping out noxious gases into the atmosphere, but both the twin moons were suitable. He just had to extend the range slightly off-planet.

And he had no idea where to begin.

He scribbles another note, contemplating gravitational pull ratios when Kylo nudges him in the ribs. 

“Hux. Hux. HUX.”

He looks around to see every person at the table staring at him.

“What is it, Kylo?” 

Kylo flushed at the overly familiar way Hux said his name.

“We’re finished. We need your signature.”

“That’s fine, just leave the datapad there and I’ll get back to it. Pass me a goblet of wine please Kylo.”

A murmur went through the others in the room, but the HuxTech lawyers didn’t blink at his disregard for the negotiations. HuxTech didn’t pay them to have their own opinions. 

Hux turns back to his own datapad and adds another note. 

The other dignitaries look between themselves, unease clear on their faces. This turns to confusion when Kylo obeys, passing over the goblet, then leans over Hux to peer at what he was writing. 

A servant comes and calls the other dignitaries to dinner with Snoke, but Kylo refuses to go. The servant seems nervous at the refusal but Kylo reassures her that he needs to stay with their guest and that Snoke would understand. 

When everyone else had left the room Hux finally asked the question that had been burning on his lips to ask for the last two hours. 

“Kylo, why was everyone staring at me like you’re about to murder me?”

“No one talks to me on this planet like you do. No one.”

Hux laughs. “It’s a good thing I’m not from here then, isn’t it?”

“I’d do anything for Gaineamh. I’d die for my people. I’m only indulging you because we need this. I think you’re rude.”

“Is that all? Rude? My father says worse to me before breakfast. Feel free to find this type of tech somewhere else then. Oh wait, you already tried and failed, countless times. Hence why your planet is mostly dead and drier than-”

Kylo looks furious, fists curling by his sides, as if he was holding himself back from hitting Hux. Hux grins, scenting blood and continues his taunts.

“Oh did I hit a nerve prince? Didn’t mommy teach you how to play nicely with others? Particularly others that are _ saving your fucking planet _.”

“My mother’s dead.”

Hux grimaces. “...I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

The rage seems to be gone from Kylo now, as fast as it had appeared.

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago. My parents were in a newly dug mine checking on worker welfare when the tunnel they were in collapsed. I was with them, I woke up a few days later and Snoke had assumed guardianship of both me, and Gaineamh. He intends to hand the guardianship of the planet over to me. Someday.”

Hux touches Kylo gently on the arm. “I’m very sorry for your loss. But I don’t think Snoke intends on giving you control, ever. I’ve known him for a few hours and I can tell he’s perfectly happy being in charge, and having you as a figurehead only.” 

Kylo shakes Hux’s hand off. 

“I don’t believe that,” he replies, but his protest sounds weak even to his own ears. 

Snoke had told him as a child that he’d follow in the footsteps of his mother, Leia, the beloved Queen of Gaineamh, the former Princess of Alderaan, the cherished leader of so many. Instead, Snoke kept him in the palace, let him sit in at meetings but not to vote or make decisions.

“Hux, I know you think Gaineamh is a simple desert planet, but did you know we produce thirty-five percent of all thermal transfer crystals in both the Inner and Outer Rim? We can afford water, afford to import vegetables and grains, the finest silks and whatever else we need. The point is at any stage a blockade could cut us off and then we’d have days, maybe a week before we’d run out of water. War is coming. I can feel it.” 

Hux nods. “I know, I was being unnecessarily cruel just now. HuxTech have bought thermal crystals from Gaineamh for years, they’re top quality.”

Hux contemplates Kylo for a moment and pours himself a glass of wine. 

“My AquaTech is going to give your people what they’ve needed for the last twenty years. And it’ll be because their prince convinced me they were worth it.”

“I have?” 

Hux smiles at him. “You have. You’ve proven you’ll fight for this tech, that it means something to you, that it’s going to transform your planet. I’ve made a lot of weapons in the past, but this is the first thing I’ll sell that’ll bring life, not death.”

“A toast then. To life.”

Hux taps his glass against Kylo’s. “To life.”

Hux takes a gulp of his wine, and scrawls his signature across the lawyer’s datapad.

“Aren’t you going to read it?”

“My father and his many, many lawyers have gone through this already even before I came here. I’m more interested in seeing the relays you have out in the desert, to see if it’s suitable for the system. I’ve had an idea about the distance issue. What do you know about AquaTech’s transmission system?”

It turns out Kylo knows absolutely nothing beyond the basics, but he’s quick to pick up the technical details and Hux finds himself enjoying discussing his work without having to justify why he works a certain way, or why he spent credits on certain aspects of a project, which he has to do with too-frequent regularity at HuxTech board meetings, as if it wasn’t his name on their paychecks, his technology that kept the company afloat.

A servant knocks then, enters the room and brings them two covered plates of food. She leans down and whispers into Kylo’s ear, he nods in return and she bows low and leaves.

“The Supreme Leader said there’s a treat for us tonight, to conclude this round of negotiations. They’re called heartberries. I’m hoping there’s more wine too.” 

Hux laughs at that and Kylo grins at him. They eat their dinner in companionable silence. It’s been nice this evening, just the two of them. Kylo’s been easy to talk to, and it’s lovely for once to just relax, without having to worry about work, or have his father breathing down his neck. His father’s latest scheme was to marry Hux off to someone who’d give him a legitimate child that Brendol could take and mould into the perfect little heir that Hux would never be. It didn’t matter what Hux did, no matter how successful HuxTech became due to his inventions and hard work, Brendol always saw him as the mistake he made with a kitchen girl. 

Hux dismisses all thoughts of his father as the door opened again.

The same servant as before carried in a small golden plate, laying it between them on the table. She brings in another bottle of wine which Ren cheers at and Hux notices the servant laughs a little at Ren as she removes the cork and puts the bottle down next to him. It makes Hux more certain about this partnership, if Ren is liked by even the serving staff, he must treat them with kindness and respect. He turns his attention back to the plate she had brought in as she leaves.

There are two rounded heartberries on the plate. The fruits have a glossy deep red skin, like fresh spilled blood, with tiny black leaves curling on the attached stems. Hux picks up one stem, snaps off a fruit for himself, passes the other to Ren. 

Hux turns it in his hand, the fruit is small enough to cup in one palm, but would require a few bites to eat fully. “How many do we eat? Can we eat the stems?”

Ren looks uncertain.

“I don’t know, I’ve never had one before. Each fruit is worth more than gold, because they require so much water to grow. When I was a child they grew all over the planet. Couples in love would exchange them, hence the name.”

Kylo rolls the fruit around in his palm, smiling at a long lost memory. “My parents sealed their marriage every year with one of these. So I guess it must be to seal the pact between our planets. The Supreme Leader told me we’d each eat one, and it’d join us together, seal the deal between us.”

Hux snaps off the stem, then bites down on his fruit. To his disgust, it’s very sour tasting, but also musty, like it’s fermented, or beginning to rot. He gags slightly on the slimy texture. There’s tiny black seeds inside staring back at him, like malevolent eyes. He grimaces, takes another two bites in quick succession to finish it, along with a large swig of wine. 

“It’s absolutely disgusting, I’d recommend trying to eat it as fast as possible.”

Kylo eats his in two bites, wincing at the taste as he swallows.

“I don’t think I want another.”

“I agree. Snoke said one would seal the deal. We’ve had one each.”

Kylo picks up the new bottle of wine and tilts it towards Hux. “More wine?”

“Yes please.”

\---

When Hux wakes up the first thing he notices is that he’s not in his own room. The sun is beginning to slant in the window, the first hint of daytime heat with it, but the window is in the wrong place. His mouth feels dry and stale, as if he’d had far too much to drink last night, yet he can’t recall what happened after they ate the heartberries. 

Hux listens to the birds sing outside for a moment until he realises he can hear soft breathing. There’s _ someone _, next to him in this bed. He attempts to turn around but the room tilts around him. He takes a few slow, measured breaths and fights a rising wave of nausea.

“Hux?” 

That answers one question: it’s Kylo next to him. Hux glances down, and sees he’s still fully dressed, though one shoe has been lost somewhere.

“Obviously. What happened last night?”

Hux finally turns over and Kylo’s clearly not a morning person, he’s blinking, looking around the room in confusion.

“Why are we in my room?”

“That’s what I want to know. Did you bring us here?”

Kylo yawns, rubs a hand across his eyes, large nose scrunched up and Hux squashes the urge to find it adorable. He wants answers first.

“We ate that disgusting fruit…”

“And?”

Kylo lifts one shoulder off the mattress in a shrug. “I don’t know. I don’t remember anything past that. We must have drank too much. Go to sleep.”

Hux begins to sit up, finds the room spins again, so lies back down. Kylo yawns again, drapes an arm over Hux’s belly, snuggles closer and lets his eyes close again.

Hux lies very, very still. At these close quarters, he can feel Kylo’s soft breaths against his cheek, smell his shampoo. He can’t recall the last time he slept beside a lover, most men were more interested in the Hux name and wealth than Hux himself. He’d have kicked them out hours ago.

Against his better judgement, he falls asleep again, lulled by the soft chorus of birds and Kylo’s gentle breathing. 

\---

When he wakes again Kylo is gone and the sunlight has reached the other wall. His stomach grumbles, so he figures it must be nearly lunch. He still feels like a herd of bantha are running through his skull but the room is no longer spinning so he counts it as a victory when he’s able to sit up, and finds his lost shoe and datapad on the floor on his way out. 

Hux needs to find a map, or a guide to get to the relay station, but Kylo is nowhere to be found, so Hux asks a servant to bring him to Snoke’s chamber. He’d rather not talk to the old man, but he needs to know what transmission system is in place sooner rather than later. Snoke might know where Kylo is, and when he found him perhaps Kylo would want to eat lunch with Hux? 

Hux silently berates himself for even thinking that, Kylo was clearly being friendly because Hux had tech he needed, but when he thinks back on their conversation over dinner the night before, he thinks maybe Kylo was genuine, that he was interested in what Hux had to say. The fact he looked beautiful in the soft sunlight in Hux’s arms a few hours previous had nothing to do with it. ‘_ Certainly not’ _he tells himself sternly. 

Snoke’s chamber door is slightly ajar, and he can hear voices within, arguing. Hux can only catch snippets and recalls what his father used to say about eavesdroppers hearing ill of themselves.

The only three sentences that are clear make his heart clench. 

“My apprentice, this is for your own good, for the good of your people.”

“What about what I want? I never wanted this with Hux.”

Hux turns around and heads outside, suddenly not particularly hungry. 

\---

Hux goes to sit in the garden, working on the AquaTech transfer module, which is where the prince finds him a few hours later. 

“I have something to tell you Hux.”

Hux doesn't bother to look up. Kylo’s words from earlier are still swimming in his brain. 

“Hux, _ please _.”

That plea makes him curious enough to look up and put his datapad down for a moment. Kylo’s cheeks are blotchy, as if he’d been crying or raging. Possibly both. 

“What is it, Prince?”

“The fruit we ate-” Kylo stops, looks around as if trying to gather strength. Hux has a sinking feeling he’s not going to like where this is going. 

“The fruit we ate- it means we’re married now.”

Everything goes very quiet in Hux’s head for a moment.

“Married?” The word feels hollow and alien in his mouth. 

Kylo nods, looks ashamed. “Please don’t blame me, I didn’t know. Snoke told me to share them with you, I just thought it was going to seal the deal. It’s an ancient rite. I looked it up, and it’s been a tradition on Gaineamh for centuries, but has died out in the last twenty years due to a lack of heartberries, because of the droughts. The ripe seeds inside are uh, a powerful aphrodisiac.”

Hux feels a strange wash of calm come over him.

He’s married. 

They’re married.

_ Married. _

“Uh, do you need to lie down Hux? You look pale. Paler than usual.”

Hux feels the stone bench sliding from under his body, and Kylo is there, holding him up. 

He holds Hux close and Hux wants to scream. He’s never been allowed anything of his own before, thanks to Brendol, and now the universe has conspired to deliver the one man he’s wanted in years right into his arms only to snatch him away. Kylo’s words from earlier won’t leave him, Kylo doesn’t want him. Doesn’t want this. 

Hux closes his eyes, bites back a scream. His head is pounding, his heart is hurting, and he wants to go home_ . _

_ ‘Let this fucking planet die of thirst, see if I care’ _he thinks bitterly. 

Kylo hushes him, rubs his back, murmurs comforting nonsense into Hux’s shoulder. Hux will allow himself this moment of closeness. He assumes there’s some sort of divorce or annulment procedure they can initiate as soon as possible. 

For now he’ll leave Kylo hold him. 

“The banquet that was scheduled for tonight is being called a celebration now.” Kylo eventually says.

Hux pulls out of Kylo’s arms. “There’s nothing to celebrate. We’re married against our wills, and AquaTech is still weeks away from implementation, if I can even get it to work.”

Ren holds his hands up in the universal ‘don’t shoot the messenger gesture’.

Hux sniffs. “I guess I’ll have to make an appearance. I intend to leave to see the relay station in the morning to start work on the array.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“No need, I don’t need a babysitter.”

Kylo looks hurt. “I do have experience with practical mechanics, and I know the desert better than most of the guides. I want to help.”

“Why? Why don’t you just stay here tonight and get drunk again and have a wonderful time flirting with whoever else takes your fancy and let me do the damn job I came here for okay, Prince?” Hux sneers back. 

Objectively he knows he’s lashing out, but his head is throbbing, and he hates to admit how deeply hurt he was when he overheard Kylo’s rejection of him earlier. 

Kylo’s mouth twists but he doesn’t reply, simply turns and leaves.

When he leaves Hux allows himself to cry. The sooner he’s finished this project, the better.

\---

A servant brings him fresh clothing. Hux grudgingly gets into the sonic, washing the day off him. He hates sonic showers, hates the feeling of not being _ clean _, even though he knows sonics are technically better at cleaning a human body than water bathing. 

The new clothing is an unadorned loose dark tunic and trousers and Hux is grateful for the simplicity. Mitaka’s left him a traditional Arkanis headpiece for the dinner to show his status as an off-worlder: a simple metal frame with fronds of fresh fern radiating out and a small set of blooms to pin to his collar. 

When he enters the dining hall he almost doesn’t realise it’s Kylo standing by the main banquet table at first, surrounded by people, but seemingly alone, standing to the side, silent. The prince is draped in his traditional black gauzy wraps, but these expose most of his chest tonight, framing the jewels that hang around his neck, tiny rows glittering, draping over his collar bone. There’s golden cuffs on his wrists, and two loops of delicate dark jewelled chains wrapped around his hips. His hair is in loose curls around his face, with bright gems perched in it. He looks every inch a prince, looking around the room with the perfect combination of haughty and bored expressed on his face. 

Then he sees Hux. His indifference vanishes and he looks lost. 

A dignitary greets Hux, then another and he loses sight of Kylo in the crowd. 

Mitaka approaches him once he’s free of the dignitaries, all trying to shake the hand of the saviour of Gaineamh.

“What the hell happened yesterday, Hux? I couldn’t find you last night, and now I keep hearing you’re going to save this entire planet. I thought you still had that issue with that gravitational thing, and the negotiations hadn’t concluded either? What’s going on?”

Hux wants to hug Mitaka, his regular no-nonsense attitude being the first normal thing he’d encountered in the last solar cycle.

“Negotiations are done, but that’s the only part that makes sense. You need to be careful, Snoke has bound me and Kylo together in an ancient marriage rite, but I don’t know why. The payment he was offering was generous, and I’d like to perfect this technology for other uses anyway.” 

“I’m sorry, _ what _? You and Kyle? Who?”

“Kylo.” Hux corrects. “His apprentice.”

Mitaka’s head whips around to try and spot Kylo in the crowd.

“The one who wears black and always looks angry?” 

Hux winces at Mitaka’s description. “Yes. I’m not sure what Snoke is trying to achieve, but basically, in the eyes of this planet, we’re now married. Kylo’s not happy about it.”

“And how do you feel?”

“I’m not happy either. What could I do? Anger Snoke and reject his ward? It’s an ancient ritual on this bloody planet, I didn’t get an option. What are you trying to imply?”

Mitaka takes a step back at Hux’s venomous response. “I know you were looking for a husband, hell, most of the Outer Rim knew that, and well, he’s easy on the eyes when he’s not scowling. It’s a little convenient if you ask me, he gets a rich husband that’s got the one piece of technology his planet needs less than a cycle after you arrive.” 

“I’m looking for a partner, someone who can support me and my work. An equal. Not a spoilt brat. I’m positive he had nothing to do with it, it’s all Snoke’s doing. Get information, but be careful who you speak to.”

Mitaka nods and disappears back into the crowd.

Hux flags down a waiter. He needs another drink. Or ten.

\---

When the dinner bell rings the guests take their seats, and he finds Snoke is the head of the table, with Kylo at his right-hand side. A servant guides Hux to take the seat to Snoke’s left.

“Distinguished guests-” Snoke begins. “We are gathered here today to celebrate the beginning of the end of Gaineamh’s water crisis! Plans are underway to change the destiny of this planet forever, in the same way I shaped the mining industry after the tragic loss of our beloved Queen Leia twenty years ago.” 

A few heads bow reverently around the table at the mention of her name.

“The heir of HuxTech, Armitage Hux himself is here to steer us towards greatness!”

Hux cringes internally at Snoke’s hyperbole but nods at him in what he hopes is polite acknowledgement. A few guests raise their glasses towards him.

Snoke continues, voice booming across the room. “However, the biggest celebration tonight is that of marriage between my ward and this pioneer of technology! I am delighted to announce last night they sealed this alliance with a heartberry.”

The room erupts into cheers and applause and the woman sitting next to him claps him on the shoulder and congratulates him. He tries to smile back, but he can only think of how unhappy Kylo was earlier talking to Snoke. 

He looks across at Kylo, who’s resolutely staring down at the table. ‘_ Poor little prince’ _ Hux thinks, ‘ _ forced into marriage with someone like _ me _ .’ _

\---

After the banquet Hux leaves for his quarters, telling Snoke and the other guests he wants to retire early to start building the transfer system. Kylo is waiting by his door, he must have taken a shortcut to arrive here before Hux.

Hux pushes past him into his room. “I don’t want to talk to you Kylo. I’m going to the desert tonight. The guide said there’s no storms due so I’ll see if I can get some sort of animal transport. I’ll be back by noon tomorrow.” 

He grabs his datapad from where it was charging, digs through a drawer for his holoprojector battery pack.

“Hux, you’ve been drinking, go to sleep and I’ll drive us out there at dawn, I have my own speeder and I know the way. We can spend some time together-”

Hux throws the items into his bag with more force than necessary. “No! I do not want to spend time with you, can you not get that through your head? We are not husbands, we are not friends. We are simply working towards the same goal. Co-workers at best.”

Kylo sucks his lower lip into his mouth and is silent for a moment. 

“Okay. Working towards the same goal. I can live with that. Please let me accompany you tomorrow.”

Hux thinks about how lost Kylo looked in the crowd, how unhappy he looked at dinner and relents. 

“Fine.”

“Tomorrow then.”

\---

When Kylo leaves Hux forgets about packing for a moment and sits on the bed and thinks. Guilt has crept in, he knows how much Kylo wants this tech to work, and he shouldn’t have snapped at his offer of help. He just wishes he could turn back time, he’d refuse the heartberry, and keep his own heart safe in the process. Kylo doesn’t want him, and he’ll have to live with that. 

Another reason to focus on the tech, get it in place so he could leave Gaineamh and never think about the whole damn planet or it’s prince ever again.

He’s just finishing brushing his teeth when there’s a soft knock on the door. He rushes to it, hoping it’s Kylo but it opens before he can reach it.

It’s Mitaka, who shuts it quickly behind him.

“I have information, but I can’t stay long, I think there’s a guard patrolling my corridor. I’ve asked around, this marriage ritual hasn’t taken place for decades. It’s not a normal thing to bind business partners together, obviously. There’s a side effect that makes me suspicious of this whole situation: the binding gives partners a mild psychic link. I still think you’re the intended mark, even if Kylo’s not aware of the role he plays. Some people say that Snoke can see into the mind of his apprentice, that he has dark powers.”

Hux could believe that. Snoke had an aura around him of malice and omniscience, all rolled into one. If Snoke could see into Kylo’s mind, then he could lift any technological secrets Hux had without lifting a finger. 

“Watch what you say around Kylo. If he’s an unwitting pawn, that’s one thing, but if he’s deliberately misleading you for Snoke’s benefit…” Mitaka lets the implication trail off. “Be careful Armitage.”

He leaves and Hux looks around at his lushly decorated quarters that suddenly feel more like a jail cell.

\---

When he wakes there are two servants at his door, along with Kylo. Kylo’s not wearing his usual gauzy fabric, but instead has simple black trousers on, with black layered strips of fabric covering the rest of his skin, apart from his head and hands. 

“Good morning, Hux.”

Hux yawns in response. He hadn’t slept well after Mitaka’s news. “ ‘Morning.”

One servant is carrying a breakfast tray, the other is carrying fabric strips and a new pair of trousers for Hux. 

He takes the clothing into the ‘fresher to change, not wanting three sets of eyes to watch him undress. He tries to wrap the strips around his torso, but they fall off. He looks at himself in the mirror and scowls. He’s going to have to go out there without his shirt on and ask for help. 

When he emerges the servants have left and Kylo’s sitting on the edge of his bed. He looks Hux up and down slowly, as if he’s liking what he sees and Hux refuses to blush. 

Absolutely refuses. 

“I, uh, I can’t get these wraps to stay on. Why do I have to wear them anyway?”

“They’re imported fabric spun in a special way, the fabric stops solar radiation and sand burn, it’s cool in the daytime and warm at night.”

He takes the wraps from Hux’s hands and lays them on the bed. 

“Do you need pins or something to keep-”

“Lift your arms up, and I’ll show you.”

Hux doesn’t expect Kylo to dress him, but he does, looping the larger pieces over Hux’s shoulders and tugging them tight. Hux stares at the wall and tries to ignore Kylo’s hands slowly smoothing the fabric down over his bare skin. Surely there’s no need for him to touch them so much once there were in place.

Kylo skims two fingers over Hux’s bare shoulder. “Oh, you’re freckled here too.” 

Hux swallows hard, and he finally makes eye contact with Kylo. Kylo’s hand is still on his shoulder, the other at the curve of his waist, warm and solid, and it’d be so, so easy to lean in- 

Kylo licks his lips and his gaze drops to Hux’s mouth. 

There’s a knock on the door and Mitaka enters without waiting for permission. He looks between Kylo and Hux, confusion clear on his face.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Hux takes a step back and Kylo continues to wrap the fabric around Hux’s arms, hands not lingering now, but instead using short professional movements. 

“We’re heading to the relay station this morning Mitaka. Any news?”

Mitaka shoots a pointed look at Kylo, who doesn’t notice, still engrossed in dressing Hux. The look says ‘not in front of _ him’ _.

“We’ll speak later Hux. Stay safe. Look after him, your highness.”

\---

Kylo’s speeder bike brings them to the relay site within an hour, just as Hux feels his arms are going to fall off. Kylo drives exactly as Hux would have imagined, taking the twists of the road slightly too fast, so Hux has to cling to Kylo’s chest, press his chest against Kylo’s back. 

The relay site is better equipped than Hux had expected, a sturdy wooden shelter covering the relay technology from the shifting sands of the desert. The relay system is older than Hux usually works with, but more than adequate for AquaTech to work. 

There are a dozen tests to perform and the day goes by quickly. Kylo assists, moving the relay frames as required and helps Hux find and fix a wiring issue on one system. They fall into the same easy patter of the night they ate alone. ‘_ The night they were married’ _ Hux’s brain supplies. 

Either Kylo is the galaxy’s best actor, or he’s innocent of any of Snoke’s schemes.

The sun is setting outside. Breakfast seems a very long time ago, and Hux’s stomach rumbles. Kylo puts his soldering iron down and stretches at the sound.

“I brought dinner.” 

Dinner is a far cry from the elaborate banquet of the night before, it’s two simple boxes of spiced vegetables and rice, with some bread and meat on the side, and fresh juice to drink.

Hux watches Kylo rip his bread into smaller pieces before popping it into his mouth. He grins at Hux around his mouthful of food and Hux dips his head towards his own dinner, embarrassed at being caught watching. He can’t help it, he prefers this Kylo, without the ornamentation of his jewels and silks. This Kylo who laughs at Hux’s jokes and can discuss capacitors with, in a way no one else has been able to match in years. This Kylo is someone Hux wants to know better. 

\---

The display shows two hours left on the diagnostics and Hux sighs. The sun has long set, and Hux wants a shower and his bed. 

Kylo yawns. “If you want, we can come back in the morning?” 

“I’d rather we stayed and got it finished.”

“While we wait, I can show you the stars?”

They leave the tent and lie down on the nearest dune, the sand has cooled from the day but is still warm to the touch. Kylo wriggles to get comfortable and Hux follows his lead, their arms end up pressed against each other. Hux doesn’t move. He tells his body to calm down, that Kylo is only being friendly. 

_ ‘He doesn’t want you’ _ his traitorous brain whispers over and over.

When he looks up, properly looks up, the stars make him gasp. They look like every cliché Hux has ever read about: a blanket of deepest blue covered in diamonds. 

But it’s Kylo’s hesitant hand taking his own that really takes his breath away.

Kylo raises their joined hands to the sky, gesturing towards a solid band of stars to their right. 

“That’s the Kylo system. It means rebirth. After my parents died, I looked to the sky and chose them to guide me and I took their name. Gaineamh lore says everyone who dies turns into stardust and watches us. That we’re not alone.”

“I wonder if my mother up there then.”

Kylo lowers their joined hands slowly, but doesn’t let go. 

“I did wonder, I mean, Brendol is well known in this system, but I hadn’t heard anything about your mother.”

It’s been nearly two decades and it still hurts to think of sneaking into the kitchen to see his mother against Brendol’s wishes and seeing the room empty, the oven cold, the dishes put away instead of seeing her smiling face, the smell of fresh bread.

“My father doesn’t advertise that I’m his bastard son. They only had a brief affair. He hates the sight of me, says I look just like her. But without me, he’d still be producing inferior weapons for Hutts, scraping a living.”

Kylo’s thumb strokes over the back of Hux’s hand.

“Well, you’re helping my planet. And you’re doing a damn good job.”

Hux grins up at the stars. 

Ren pushes himself up onto one elbow, looking down at Hux. Hux can’t drag his eyes away from Ren’s plush mouth, his nose, the arch of his brow, the constellation of his moles across his cheeks. _ Stars in the sky be damned. _

Hux reaches up as Kylo leans down. The kiss is a hard press of lips, and Hux opens his mouth greedily, tongue darting out to find Kylo’s. He tastes of the sweet juice they drank with dinner.

Kylo’s body covers Hux’s, pressing him into the soft sand. He slides his fingers between the layers of fabric on Hux’s skin, fingertips finding the slightest slivers of bare skin.

Hux shivers at the slow touches but reluctantly pulls away from Kylo. 

“Kylo, stop. Stop, please.”

Kylo immediately pulls away, shuffling away on the sand until there was a significant gap between their bodies. 

“I’m so sorry Hux, I thought- _ I’m an idiot dammit _ -I thought you wanted me. I saw you looking-”

“....Wait, what?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to harass you. What you’re feeling must be because of the heartberries. Please don’t leave, you know how badly my people need this technology. Take the speeder back to the city, you never have to see me again.”

Hux starts to laugh, until his sides hurt. Kylo looks curiously at him, like he’d lost his mind. Perhaps he had.

“We’re fools. We’re both utter fools. We deserve each other.”

He wipes away his tears of laughter and reaches out to take Kylo’s hand again. 

“I wanted you _ before _I ate that damn fruit. I overheard you talking to Snoke, the morning after we were married. You said you didn’t want me. I...didn’t take it well.”

“I meant I didn’t want to be married to you in some ancient ritual. I wanted to court you, to woo you. You treated me like an equal, not a prince, and I thought you were gorgeous, and smart. And that’s before I ate the heartberry too. It’s how I truly feel.”

Hux grins, turning Kylo’s large palm over in his, lacing their fingers together.

“I know that _ now _.”

Kylo grins back at him. “Good. Well, I don’t intend to have sex with you here in the sand. I want to do this right. On my bed, or on soft cushions. Slowly.” 

Hux feels a shiver go through him at Kylo’s words. 

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

They lie back down together for a few moments in silence, listening to the soft distant beeps of the diagnostics running and the rustle of the wind over the sparse desert plants scattered on the dunes. 

Eventually, Kylo speaks, looking upwards as if revealing his secrets to the stars.

“I never told anyone this before, but until you came here I had a voice in my head. Just whispers. It took a very long time until I realised they were Snoke. He’d tell me I was lucky my parents were dead, so they wouldn’t see that I was worthless. But when we ate those heartberries… that voice went. Now there’s only you. And me.”

“Us. There’s an ‘us’ now.”

“Can we travel to Arkanis? I’d like to see your planet, and see AquaTech in action. And we could spend some time together, alone?” _ Without looking over our shoulders for Snoke _ is heavily implied in his words.

“Sure. Next week, if I work out the gravitational issues? I need to check my lab anyway, I can tweak the software for these relays.” 

\---

The week passes slowly, Hux is frustrated professionally at the slow progress of his coding to allow off-planet vapour transfer, and privately furious at Snoke. Once they’d returned to the palace Snoke’d immediately decided Kylo must be sent as an envoy to another planet. Mitaka had left the palace to find out further intel on Snoke, and was due to meet them on Arkanis. Hux usually would love to be left alone to work, but sitting in the palace library, alone, and knowing Snoke was watching him was unbearable. Every time he tried to go for a smoke, or to stretch his legs, Snoke’s red-suited guards would appear and watch him until he returned to work. 

However, now the week was finally over and the trip to Arkanis could begin Hux had insisted Kylo had to travel with him, and Snoke had allowed it. Hux suspected he wanted to use Kylo to find out as much as possible of HuxTech’s secrets, but Hux didn’t care, now Kylo was back next to him and they were on their way to Arkanis together.

Hux sleeps on the trip, waking only when the shuttle enters the atmosphere. He peeks out the window by his seat at the landscape below him. He had almost forgotten how green everything was, how vibrant the different shades were. 

Kylo’s staring out the main view screen, eyes wide. 

“Is that the ocean?” 

Hux leans over and looks towards where Kylo is pointing. “No, it’s one of the great lakes. There’s fifteen on-planet.” 

“I wonder how green Gaineamh will become with unlimited water.”

Hux shrugs, stretches his legs out. 

“I’m not sure. Your climate is all wrong for the amount of surface water we have here, and the deserts will likely remain deserts. But where you previously had arable land it can be transformed back to grow on and your towns and cities can have flowerbeds, fountains and swimming pools. Actual water showers, not those sonic horrors.”

Arkanis was now a fully sustainable planet. It wasn’t just due to his AquaTech, but it had played a big role: the tech had brought an equal chance to all parts of the planet to generate their own hydro-electricity and grow food all year ‘round, and stopped seasonal issues with overly dry forests causing forest fires, or lake levels dropping and killing wildlife. Everything in nature was back in balance after centuries of human interference.

As the shuttle starts the landing procedure Hux points out a large house, with ivy strands and flowering clematis decorating the stone front, from the ground right up to trailing along the roof. Next to it stands a huge, gleaming glass office building. 

“That house is where I grew up, the Hux family home. I had the offices built after HuxTech started to make serious credits. War pays.” 

“Don’t you feel guilty supplying weapons that are going to be used to kill people?”

Hux had this internal struggle many years ago, when he was still a student at the Academy and Brendol had drank away any money the Hux name ever had. The headmistress had asked Hux when his father would be paying his fees and Hux had realised that he had to look out for himself, and only himself. He had hated the Academy, but the thought of being sent back to live with Brendol was enough to ensure he studied hard, and kept himself out of trouble. Well, mostly.

He’d developed a small adapter that could circumnavigate the content blocks on the Academy datapads the students had to use. He’d sold them through the word-of-mouth black market that the Academy thrived on, and earned enough to pay for his semester fees in two weeks, enough to buy raw materials for another project with another month of sales. 

He’d never looked back, never relied on Brendol for anything ever again. Until Brendol fell ill, and Hux had returned home to take over HuxTech. Brendol had recovered, and Hux hadn’t left. 

“Someone always builds bigger and better weapons, it’s the way of the universe. Mine at least have targeting technology that hopefully reduces the number of innocent casualties.”

The shuttle lands and Mitaka is waiting for them. Hux hugs him, glad to see a friendly face again. Mitaka’s surprised but hugs back. 

“Uh, okay. Hi Hux. Welcome, Prince Kylo.”

Hux squeezes Kylo’s hand and points towards the house.

“Go in that door, turn right, it’s a kitchen area, I’ll be there in a minute.”

Mitaka’s grinning at him as Hux watches Kylo walk away. 

“You and Kylo eh? What a difference a week makes.”

“We had communication issues.”

“Is that what people are calling creepy old men forcing them into marriage these days?”

Hux gives Mitaka a withering look. “I trust Kylo.”

“I know, I know. Remember what I told you about the heartberries properties, what if you’re feeling what he wants you to feel?”

Hux doesn’t know how to respond to that. He’s spent most of his life focused on logic, and he can’t deny what Mitaka’s saying. 

Mitaka sighs. “Look, I want you to be happy, but I don’t want you to get hurt. And we still have a job to complete here.”

\---

Hux has shown Ren around most of the house when they bump into Brendol, who’s in a robe and clearly just crawled out of bed. Hux feels angry that he has to share even a moment of Kylo with the man. He had hoped Brendol would be in the city, spending the credits Hux had earned on whatever luxuries Brendol thought he somehow deserved. 

“Good afternoon, Father.”

“So you’ve finally decided to grace us with your presence, boy? TransGalMeg are still waiting on your revised rear gun schematics.”

“Yes, Father. I’ve almost solved their power issue.”

Brendol finally seems to notice the other man in the room.

“Who’s this? Why’s he dressed like that?”

“Father, this is Prince Kylo Ren, of Gaineamh.” 

Ren bows deeply, then offers his hand to Brendol.

Brendol looks at the proffered hand as if it were a venomous snake, then turns his back on Kylo to pour himself a brandy. He doesn’t offer either man a drink. 

“Oh, that water project? Don’t let this charity case waste too much of your time Armitage, TransGalMeg actually pay.”

“Of course, Father.”

Hux places a hand on Kylo’s back and leads him out of the room swiftly. 

They’ve barely closed the door behind him when Kylo bursts out “How dare he! We’re paying you handsomely for this job, and he disrespected you, my status, my entire planet-”

“Shh, he might hear you.”

Brendol hadn’t dared to strike Hux since the incident when he was fourteen and he had threatened Brendol with a knife he’d hidden up his sleeve, but Hux didn’t want to get into a verbal altercation in front of Kylo. 

Hux tugs Kylo’s sleeve until they’re outside the house, and Hux lights up a cigarra as Kylo continues to fume.

“I had hoped he wouldn’t be here, that you’d never have to meet. My father has no respect for anything but cold hard credits.” Hux blows a plume of smoke out. “Forget about him. It’s forecast to rain shortly, but we can take in some of the grounds before that happens.”

He stubs the cigarra out, then offers Kylo his arm and Kylo accepts it, linking their arms together. It’s an old-fashioned Arkanis custom, when couples used to step out for a walk together to be able to court in private, away from the eyes of their parents and tutors. 

“Let’s go to the lake first.” 

Hux badly wants to add in ‘husband’ at the end of that sentence, as would also be traditional on Arkanis. He doesn’t want to put pressure on this new tentative thing between them, they hadn’t really discussed their marriage...or inevitable divorce.

Mitaka’s walking into the house as they leave, and he gives Hux another knowing look, eyes darting down to their joined arms. Hux smiles tightly back at him and mouths ‘Brendol’ as a warning. Mitaka immediately turns around and heads out to the west garden instead. 

Ren seems to enjoy everything he sees on the walk to the lake. It’s a narrow path, lined by stone walls with a few patches of plants growing along the side, poking their heads up through the stones to soak up the weak sunlight. 

Kylo’s even enamoured by a patch of bindweeds, an annoying weed Brendol used to make Hux pull with his bare hands to teach him the value of hard work. He’d been nine years old. His hands had bled for days. He’d developed a type of flame technology to burn them to the root and his father moved onto to other punishments. 

Kylo only sees the twisting vines and the delicate purple flowers. Hux envies his innocence, to see nothing but the beauty of the plants around him than the bitter memories. 

He shook his head to clear the reminders of days long past. He was an adult now, and the acting head of HuxTech. He was the commander of his own destiny now. 

Ren smiled at him and Hux’s heart skipped a beat. He was also in love, and somehow Kylo was here, with him. He’d missed him so much in the last week.

Hux reluctantly dropped their linked arms to reach between two tufts of grass to pluck a starflower where it was nestled in the base of the wall. It’s a deep orange, with eight petals radiating from the centre. Kylo takes it hesitantly, it looks tiny in his large hands, and he holds it gently as they walk. 

The path soon opens up to the wide expanse of the lake, and Kylo looks delighted. The lake is surrounded by trees on three edges, but he’s focused on the nearest edge: a series of planted flower beds next to the wooden dock and large awning that covered Mitaka’s boat in the winter and was used as storage for towels and gardening equipment.

“It’s beautiful! Everything is so green. I’ve been off world, but to cities like Hosnian Prime. Nothing like this. I’ve never seen so much water. Is it one of the great lakes?”

Hux grins, pleased Ren likes it. This was his favourite place as a child, just far enough from the house he would be left to his own devices because Brendol would be too lazy to walk this far. His mother taught him to swim here, back when it was a muddy-bottomed seasonal pond, only big enough for a child.

“No, it’s my family’s lake.” 

Ren blinks at Hux. “Are there fish in there? Do you use it as a reservoir for the town?”

“No, it’s completely fresh water, generated through AquaTech. It’s drinkable quality. It’s only for the house’s use, for recreation.” 

Ren blinked. “Recreation? That much water is worth more than my palace.”

“Here it’s just water Kylo. And I plan to swim in it. Join me.” 

Hux pulls his jacket off, lays it down neatly on one of the benches under the awning. Ren doesn’t move, staring out at the lake.

“Why aren’t you undressing Kylo?”

“I can’t swim.”

Hux pauses in unbuttoning his shirt. “You can’t swim.”

Ren glares at him. “That’s what I said. I never learnt to. There’s no body of water big enough on Gaineamh.”

“I’ll teach you.” 

Ren barks out a short, nervous laugh. 

“It’s okay, I’ll wait here for you. Look at some more plants, walk the edge of the lake.”

“No, it would be good for you to learn. When AquaTech goes into action on Gaineamh, surely you’ll want to have a pool? At least a bathing room?” 

“I suppose so.”

“Then take your clothes off, and I’ll teach you.”

Hux tries to ignore the flush of heat that rises on his face at telling Ren to strip. Ren turns away from Hux and starts to unwrap his first layer. At the first peek of completely bare skin appearing and Hux has to drag his eyes away, turn his focus back to his own clothing. 

Hux is naked shortly, and Ren is still unwrapping himself slowly. 

“Do you need help?”

Ren shakes his head. He’s unwrapped to the waist now, layers of gauzy fabric draped over the bench. 

Hux dips a toe into the water, it feels shockingly cool compared to the last time he was here, his body had gotten used to the heat of Gaineamh. But he can’t wait to get in. He lets out a whoop and jumps in, just as he’s done since he was four years old.

When he bobs back to the surface, Ren has stopped undressing and is watching with a look of horror. 

“You went under! On purpose!” 

Hux laughs, treading water and feeling more like himself than he has done in weeks, the stress of Snoke’s schemes and the negotiations fading into nothing as he kicks lazily in the water. 

“Yes, and it’s refreshing as hell. Hurry up, I want to share this with you.”

Ren drops his final layers, and looks shy. Hux forces himself to keep eye contact. 

“What’s wrong Ren? Is it the lake? You don’t have to swim, you could sit on the dock-”

“I’m not used to being naked.”

Hux blinks once.

“Your usual clothing is mostly _ see through _.”

Ren rolls his eyes. “It’s still clothing. I’m still _ covered _.”

Hux laughs again, and gestures for him to come into the water. 

Ren awkwardly kneels on the dock, leans over the water.

“Do I just fall in? Crawl in?”

“Fall if you want. I’ll catch you.”

Ren swallows audibly and before Hux can swim forward to catch him, he tips his whole body into the water with a loud splash.

Hux swears and swims forward quickly to seize Ren around the waist and hold his torso above water. 

Ren’s kicking wildly, arms splashing and nearly catches Hux in the nose twice. 

“Calm down! Hold onto the side of the dock, reach out, go on.”

Kylo’s kicking stops once he’s holding onto the soft grey wood of the dock.

Hux gently puts a hand between his shoulder blades, as if to quieten a wild animal.

“See, it’s fine. Can you let go and try to float?” 

Kylo attempts this, but his head dips under the water again. He looks terrified and Hux curses himself, he meant this to be a nice experience for the prince. He tries to remember how he learnt to swim, but he had been so young, it was instinctive, the same way walking was ingrained in his muscles. 

“Kylo, hold onto me.”

Hux pushes away from the dock, with Ren holding onto him like a limpet. It was difficult to swim with six foot of prince attempting to drown him, but it wasn’t that far in distance, even though it felt like an age.

When Hux reached the more shallow area near the edge of the lake, he stood up, helping Kylo to stand too. The water still reached his ribs, but once Kylo realised he could stand, he immediately relaxed and left go of his death-grip on Hux. Hux tried not to miss it. 

\---

The forecasted rain came after half an hour, bouncing off the lake water, giving everything a strange hazy quality. Kylo grinned up at it, opened his mouth and tasted it. 

Kylo’s gotten braver in the water, his strong frame making swimming look easy, long limbs cutting through the water effortlessly. He discovered he could scoop water to splash at Hux that caused Hux to curse and splutter, so he did it whenever he came near enough. Hux wanted desperately to grab him and dunk him under the surface, the way he’d do if it was Mitaka splashing him, but instead, he splashed back gently. 

Hux wanted to kiss the droplets off his skin, to reach through the water to touch all the skin he knew was bare and inviting under the gentle waves on the lake’s surface the soft breeze was creating. 

Ren sucked a mouthful of the water in and spat it into the air, as if he was a fountain. Hux laughed. 

“My mind is free here Hux. I feel like I’m completely alone in my own head for the first time.”

Ren reached out, skimmed his hand along Hux’s arm and Hux shivered at the touch, goosebumps rising on his skin.

“Except when I touch you, Hux. I can feel you there, just a whisper.”

“Please, call me Armitage.”

“Can I call you husband?”

Hux couldn’t tell who reached for the other, but suddenly Kylo’s body was pressed against his and they were kissing. The kisses were sloppy, more intent on tasting each other than any finesse. Rain ran down their faces, into their mouths.

“Armitage-”

Hux lets his feet find the soft base of the lake so he can stand and press his body against Kylo’s. 

Hux feels, rather than hears Kylo’s hitch of breath at the first slide of his hand along Kylo’s stomach, fingers teasing the line of hair past his navel, trailing down to brush Kylo’s hardening cock. 

“Is this okay Kylo?”

Kylo’s response is another savage kiss that leaves Hux gasping for breath, an answering grip around Hux’s own cock, twisting lightly and making Hux’s body ring out with pleasure. 

This feels juvenile, unsophisticated groping in the water, but Hux relishes it, holds tight to the fact this is their chance to learn each other properly for the very first time, to reach out and touch each other as equals, as lovers.

_ As husbands _. 

Kylo breaks the kiss to pant open-mouthed, flush high on his cheeks, and the rain’s flattening his hair, streams running down his face and Hux has never seen anything so beautiful in his life. 

Kylo comes with a broken "Hux-- Armitage", and Hux feels lightheaded and powerful all at once. He comes shortly after, biting down on Kylo’s shoulder to stop himself saying something he might regret, legs feeling weak after the rush of pleasure. 

They pull away and Kylo’s watching him carefully. 

“Are you okay Armitage?”

“I’ve never been better.” As he speaks he realises it’s the truth. This feels right, being here, in the place that meant so much to him growing up, with a beautiful, smart, funny man by his side that was looking at him like he’d hung the stars in the sky. 

Kylo laughs and splashes him again. 

The rain has stopped, so they get out of the lake and get dried off. It’s strange seeing Kylo’s naked form again, when he just came in his arms. He allows himself to stare this time and Kylo notices.

He tugs Hux in for a kiss once they’re dressed. There’s the sound of a throat clearing behind them and they spring apart like naughty teenagers caught necking by their parents.

It’s Mitaka, and he’s grinning at them, Hux knows his face must be bright red. 

“Cook left dinner for us, I said I’d come and find you both in case you were, uh, _ busy _. Now you’re reacquainted, we need to discuss what I’ve found out in the last week. It’s what we’d suspected, unfortunately.”

They eat dinner in the large glass-walled conservatory attached to the house, while the rain beats down once more outside. 

The plants here move and sway as Hux passes, and he absentmindedly pets a few, stroking his fingers over their leaves. 

“Biotech project,” he says to Kylo’s inquisitive look. “They know when I’m near. Absolutely zero use in the real world, but I kept them anyway.” 

Dinner comes with a salad dressed with tiny herbs and flowers and Kylo exams each mouthful before eating it. Mitaka and Hux eat quickly, then discuss the intel Mitaka has gathered. 

“We need a plan. Snoke needs this technology to work because he wants to use it to power a weapon.” 

Kylo shakes his head. “No, he doesn’t need weapons. We’ve got no enemies, many allies and plenty of credits and resources.”

“In my experience, people always want _ more _. What sort of weapon are we talking about Mitaka?”

“From what I gathered it’s taking your wormhole tech and using it to power some sort of laser weapon.”

“...Like the Death Star.” Kylo looks horrified.

Hux scoffs. “No, the Empire was defeated. If they were still around my father would be merrily stomping around commanding troops instead of day-drinking in his pyjamas. It’s nonsense.”

Mitaka crosses his arms over his chest. “Look, I don’t want to admit it either, but it makes sense. Once your tech can go off-world it’ll be simple for someone to harness it as a weapon. Maybe Snoke has nothing to do with the Empire, maybe Snoke’s just a mad man. Either way, we have a problem.”

They stop talking while a servant brings them a pot of caf. 

“Brendol.” Kylo suddenly says.

Hux looks up from his cup. “What about him?”

“He’s the one who’s told Snoke about the project.”

Mitaka frowns. “I thought Snoke approached HuxTech, not the other way around.”

Kylo shakes his head. “No, Brendol came to Gaineamh, had a meeting with Snoke. It was around the time of the harvest festival, so maybe three standard months ago? What if he’s the link? You’ve said it yourself Hux, Brendol would love the Empire to return.”

Hux sips his caf and thinks. About four months ago Brendol had asked one of Hux’s engineers for some information about AquaTech, and at the time Hux had told her to give him the information, because what could Brendol have done with it? Sold it? He wouldn’t dare because it might affect HuxTech stock prices, and therefore Brendol’s lavish lifestyle. 

But if he wanted the information to approach someone about weaponizing it… it made a sick kind of sense. 

\---

That evening Hux runs a bath for them both, but even though Kylo’s legs tangle with Hux’s under the bubbles, they’re both too tired to try anything, exhausted from swimming and the many questions Mitaka’s intel had raised.

Hux scrubs his arms while Kylo swishes the layer of bubbles with one hand. He doesn’t meet Hux’s eyes when he starts to talk. 

“For years I dreamt of Snoke killing my parents. Of using his powers to bring the tunnels down on them. When I told my tutors they didn’t believe me, they told me it was a false memory generated by the trauma of seeing my parents die in front of me.”

Kylo wets his lips before continuing. “What if- what if what I saw was real? That Snoke does have powers, and he used them to kill my parents?”

He looks up to see Hux looking back at him with sympathy. 

“I believe you. There’s something about Snoke that creeps me out. It’s not just how he looks, it’s how he smiles at the wrong times, how he looks at me like he’s dragging all my thoughts out against my will.” Hux shivers despite the hot bathwater. 

“What are we going to do? What can we do?”

Hux’s not sure of the details, but he knows where to start: AquaTech.

—-

Time passes quickly on Arkanis, though it’s hard for Hux to work when Kylo is _ right there _, within reach to touch, to kiss. Brendol has goes off-world without notice and Hux and Kylo take advantage of his absence to be loud as they want in bed. And in the dining room, library, conservatory and parlour. The servants learn quickly to knock before they enter a room. 

All good things have to come to an end, and eventually, the relay hardware is ready to be placed on Gaineamh. The initializing switch is hardwired into his lab on Arkanis, to prevent any of Snoke’s agents from interfering with it. At the very least, his lab security systems would slow them down enough he could call in an airstrike if required. He feels sick at the thought of his gleaming building and home being destroyed, but if that’s what was required… he’d do it. Anything to keep Kylo safe.

They arrive back on Gaineamh as the planet’s sun rises. When they arrive at their rooms Hux is more than ready to go to the desert and start work, but Kylo insists they have to greet Snoke first. Any deviation from normal routine might make Snoke suspicious.

Snoke’s on his throne as usual, and he’s smiling. Hux feels that insidious creep once more going down his spine, like a ghostly hand.

“I have discovered some terrible news.” Snoke booms when they approach.

Hux freezes, mid-bow. Has he found out they know what he did all those years ago to Queen Leia? What he intends to do with Hux’s technology?

“Brendol Hux had visited this planet to discuss our contract, and he was involved in a terrible accident. He is dead.” 

There’s a moment where the words don’t register, and then it hits Hux.

Brendol is _ dead _.

“I’m very sorry for your loss.” Snoke continues. “He was a wonderful businessman, and I’m sure a marvellous father too.”

Hux bows again. “Thank you, Supreme Leader. I am very saddened by this news. If it pleases you, the prince and I will leave the palace while I process my grief.”

Snoke waves a hand, dismissing them. 

When they arrive at Hux’s room, Kylo tries to hug Hux but he shakes him off.

“I know you didn’t like Brendol but-”

“Didn’t like him? I _ hated _that man. Despised him. I wished him dead every single day of my life. But he’s fine one day, deep in bottle of Corellian Brandy and shouting at the servants, then he’s suddenly dead? I don’t believe it. I always thought he’d outlive me through sheer stubbornness.”

“Perhaps he had an illness no-one knew about-”

“No. We discuss his possible involvement in a weapons plot, he leaves the planet that day and he winds up dead? He was murdered, I’m sure of it. We need to finish the array, and fast. If we can get it to work without Snoke realising it’s been turned on, the flow of water vapour won’t be able to be stopped. It’s the only way to prevent the wormhole from being used to channel energy as a weapon instead.”

\---

It’s been six hours and Hux is sick of looking at the same panels, over and over. He traces the circuit for the hundredth time. He flicks the power on and nothing happens, also for the hundredth time. Hux slams the panel closed.

Kylo’s sitting on the floor, mediating and he looks up at the noise.

“Still not working?”

“What do you think?” Hux snaps. 

Kylo rises, and Hux sighs and leans into him, his words muffled against Kylo’s shoulder as Kylo’s arms wrap around him.

“You know I have to go back to Arkanis as soon as I can to activate the tech. My time here was always limited and now I think that if I do get it to work, Snoke is going to kill me anyway. Maybe there’ll be another horrible accident, and you’ll get blamed and he’ll have gotten rid of all his problems in one go...and if it doesn’t work our legacy will be the millions killed when it’s weaponised.”

“I know.”

“You’re going to say no, but I’m going to ask anyway: will you come to Arkansis with me? Leave everything behind and start a new life with me? Please?”

“I want to, but I can’t. Snoke must think everything is normal, right up to the moment when the vapour flows. Even if I left, we wouldn’t be free of Snoke. He’d find me. He’s always watching. And the people- I can’t.”

Hux smiles sadly at him.

“I know. Do you remember that night when said you’d die for your people, that this planet was everything to you? I knew you’d say no. I wish things had turned out differently for us.”

Kylo kisses him then, and Hux melts into it. 

Kylo pushes him a step backwards and Hux’s legs hit the table with the switchboard on it. Kylo digs his fingers into Hux’s lower back, hold him so tightly against him that Hux thinks he can feel Kylo’s heartbeat against his own chest. Hux kisses back, feeling desperate and raw. Kylo lifts Hux up so he’s sitting on the table, and slots himself between Hux’s legs.

This might be the last time he ever gets to have this, to touch Kylo, touch his _ husband, _and to show him how much he is loved. 

...There’s something dripping onto his head.

He pulls away from the kiss but Kylo’s mouth follows him, nips at his jaw, and he starts to tug Hux’s shirt up when he also stops. 

They look up in unison to see a perfectly formed miniature cloud hovering above their head, dropping tiny speckles of rain down on them. 

It’s worked. AquaTech can be run on Gaineamh. 

“Our time is up.” Hux whispers against Kylo’s mouth and then they don’t talk. 

It’s not the soft palace bed Kylo had promised him, but it doesn’t matter. 

The table creaks as they rock together, trying to find more friction, but unwilling to pull apart and stop touching, even for a second. Hux presses his face against Kylo’s neck and takes deep breaths, trying to memorise everything about this moment, about his husband. It’s over too soon and Hux feels stretched too thin, like he’s about to snap. He has to leave, before he says something stupid and ruins the moment. 

Kylo kisses him again, chasing away his thoughts. "I want to remember you this way, Hux. In my arms."

Hux swallows around a lump that’s formed in this throat. This whole trip was meant to be a simple implementation of AquaTech, resulting in a large sum of credits for HuxTech and a proof of concept Hux could sell to other planets. Instead, now he was saying goodbye to his husband, running away, and leaving Kylo likely to face his parents’ murderer head-on.

“I love you.”

Kylo smiles sadly. “I know.”

It seems fitting to Hux, they had their first kiss here in the desert; now, they’ll have their last. 

The rain cloud still spitting tiny drops of rain on them. 

\---

The journey back to the city felt simultaneously like the longest and shortest trip of Hux’s life. He held onto Kylo and pressed his face into his back, as if his will alone would keep Kylo safe, to keep him by Hux’s side forever. He feels tired to his very bones, and cowardly.

He sleeps fitfully on the shuttle back to Arkanis, dreams dark and disturbing, nothing solid, but He wakes as they land, feeling Snoke’s eyes watching him. 

It’s raining heavily when he lands, large drops bouncing off the viewscreen.

Hux waves off the servant who is waiting by the shuttle with an umbrella to lead him into the house, instead runs towards the gleaming HuxTech building on the hill. 

The fingerprint scanner into his private lab takes longer than he ever remembered, but it finally turns green, and he enters.

He taps the computer keyboard once, and it activates. The AquaTech system is open already, ready for a command. He selects Gaineamh and the system whirs loudly as it processes the request. He can see it now, the relays in the desert all coming alive one by one, all the banks of lights winking in unison across two planets. 

The processor whines slightly, then the loading bar starts to fill quickly. 4%, 25%, 50%, 72%, 90%-flash by until the whirring stops and the computer screen fills with_ ‘AquaTech V6.2.2 Gaineamh Moon (Gealach II) > Gaineamh ACTIVE’. _

Hux lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. It’s done. The system is active, the vapour is flowing, it can’t be weaponized now. The galaxy is safe.

But Kylo- Kylo is not.

He watches the first cycle, the on-planet relays turn a little slower than anticipated but they reach the right positions and the animation on-screen shows the vapour transfer from the nearest moon towards the planet’s atmosphere.

The lab door buzzes and Hux reaches over to press the door switch.

“Hux, I saw the shuttle. What’s happening?” The worry in Mitaka’s voice is clear as he walks into the lab. He stops walking when he sees the system is running, but Hux is alone in the lab.

“Where’s Kylo?” 

Hux doesn’t answer, just continues to watch the transfer. 

“Hux, where’s Kylo-”

“I heard you the first time. He’s still on Gaineamh. Once Snoke realises the transfer is happening I imagine he’s not going to be happy.”

Mitaka looks horrified. “You left him behind? Snoke will kill him!”

“Don’t you think I know that? Kylo made a decision and I’ve done what I can to protect the galaxy. Kylo will have to look after himself.”

The first cycle chimes a happy beep announcing the successful production of rain. Hux isn’t even sure where the cloud ended up, he’d just tapped in some random coordinates at the start of the transfer. He almost hopes it’s right over Snoke, that he can see that his plans have failed.

“Everything’s working. I’m getting some weapons, then I’m going back to Gaineamh. You stay here and make sure the system keeps running. You can manually patch me in if anything happens, but only from this room.” 

“I’m coming with you.”

“No, you need to stay and ensure nothing goes wrong. It’ll take a few cycles for the system to get to equilibrium, any tweaks that need to happen will occur in those cycles. Stay here.” 

“Hux, I’ve been by your side for a decade now, I’ve worked every late night with you, endured Brendol’s foul moods, sat through every board meeting. I’m coming with you.”

“No Mitaka, that’s why you’re staying. If I don’t return, my lawyers will transfer ownership of HuxTech to you. It’s been in place for years.” 

He pulls the shocked Mitaka in for a quick hug and leaves.

As the Outer Rim’s leading weapon manufacturer, HuxTech specialised in giving their customers bespoke ship-to-ship destruction, for a very reasonable fee. The only weapons available on site were lightweight blasters used to test the shielding on customised escape pods and a selection of blades for armour testing. He packed them all into a large duffle bag, hesitating before chucking in his prototype tray as well. They were for a project worth more than the entire office building, but if he didn’t get Kylo back, what good was a building? What good was any of his tech if he was going to die alone and miserable, like Brendol did?

He makes it back to the shuttle only twenty minutes after leaving it, quickly has a smoke under one wing, sheltered from the still-beating rain while the pilot comms for permission to take off through local airspace. 

The pilot sticks his head out the door. 

“I’m afraid you can’t embark, it’s uh, closed sir.”

“Closed? A planet doesn’t close. I was there only hours ago!”

The pilot shrugs.

“I’m very sorry Mr. Hux, but I tried to input the co-ords and I’ve been refused entry. Gaineamh is off-limits to all transports as of an hour ago. Chatter on the holonet says it might be a civil war?”

Hux feels queasy, but regardless he lights another cigarra, hands trembling slightly as he lights it. 

“Can you get close? Get to Gealach I or II?”

The pilot types the coordinates in, and the system flashes green. 

“Seems like a yes?”

Hux takes a final drag, throws the cigarra out into the rain where it sizzles as it hits a puddle. 

“Let’s go then.” 

—-

Their arrival on Gealach I is unexpected and unannounced, and the border officials are horrified to find Hux’s cache of weapons. They march him to a small office where an officer types Hux’s shuttle code into a database, checking for other violations. There’s a small screen on the back wall showing local sports, no sign of a civil war or Kylo being publicly executed for treason and Hux can breathe slightly easier. 

The officer flicks through the datapad. “You seem really familiar to me, have you caused trouble here before? That’s one interesting stash of weapons you have. Did you uh, steal them? Some still have lab tags on them.”

Hux opens his mouth to tell the guard that they were _ his _to steal when the screen playing sports suddenly flashes ‘emergency broadcast’.

Kylo fills the screen, but he looks completely different to how Hux had left him barely a cycle ago, a long lazily bleeding scar across his face, eyes bloodshot and wild. 

“Citizens of Gaineamh, Gealach I and Gealach II. The Supreme Leader is dead. He had lied to me, lied to us all. Queen Leia was murdered by Snoke. As her rightful heir I will take my place as Supreme Leader. Long may our worlds prosper.” The message repeats again and again. 

The officer looks between Hux and the screen, realisation dawning. Hux would find the man’s complete horror amusing at any another time. Right now he needs to get to Kylo.

“Uh, give me a minute please Mr. Hux- or did you take the prince’s name?” He laughs nervously and picks up a comm. “Uh, Officer Luxu at Gealach I border control here. I have Mr. Hux here. Yes, _ that _Mr. Hux. Uh-huh.” 

He puts the comm back on the table. 

“Transport blocks have been lifted. You’re free to go. Apologies for the misunderstanding.”

Hux smiles tightly and leaves. Snoke might be dead, but Kylo still needs him.

\---

Six months later:

_ “You’ve now reached Gaineamh! Beautiful Gaineamh welcomes ALL visitors! Explore our cities, try our unique dune slope experiences. Visit the planet’s waterpark: enjoy the sunshine AND make a splash!” _

Hux flicks the screen off before the advert can start extolling more virtues of the planet for tourists. 

The shuttle lands and Kylo’s waiting for him. He’s been wearing normal robes the last few times Hux has visited, like the regular people on the planet wear, not the flimsy wraps marking him as one of the palace’s pets. He looks good like this, hair soft and curling and he’s grinning as Hux descends the ramp. 

“I saw the new advert,” Hux calls out in lieu of a greeting. 

Kylo rolls his eyes. “I know, I know, but tourist credits are what’s paying for our new palace to be built, so shh.” 

Hux laughs, and carefully hugs Kylo, presses a brief kiss to his mouth. Kylo’s nearly fully healed, but his side is still a mass of scar tissue. After Hux had left, Kylo had confronted Snoke, and after a short battle, had emerged the victor, albeit heavily wounded.

Hux knows Kylo secretly likes his facial scar, that it marks him as a warrior for his people. Hux wish he’d waited for Hux to return, that the entire situation could have been prevented by the timely application of HuxTech directly at Snoke’s head. 

Still, what is done is done. 

There’s a beep and Kylo checks his datapad. “I’ve got to pop into the council chamber, sign a document, I’ll only be a few minutes. Go check out the marketplace, there’s some new carts. Grab a tea or something.”

Hux nods and Kylo kisses him goodbye. 

The marketplace is busier than Hux has ever seen it, and many carts have signs declaring their wares are grown on-planet. 

There’s a ceramic platter of heartberries as the centrepiece of one particular cart, three fruits in total. The price tag is eye-watering. The stall owner notices him looking and stops placing her leafy greens into baskets to come talk to him. 

“Heartberries! This is from the first crop of the year. Aren’t they stunning? When I was a child these berries grew everywhere, like weeds almost, and courting couples would exchange the first ripe berries of the season as a love token. Then, of course, there’s the marriage ceremony involving them, but you know of that already!” 

She winks at Hux. 

“I’m very happy they’re going to be back, my son is planting twenty bushes next week. As a thank you, please take one back to your husband as a gift.” She begins to layer soft paper into a box to place the fruit into.

Hux tries not to grimace. “I appreciate your gift, and please don’t take this as an offence, but neither Prince Kylo or I found them to our taste.”

The woman looks puzzled, takes the heartberry back out of the box and using a small paring knife carves off a thin slice that she offers to Hux.

She notices Hux’s flinch and laughs.

“Trust me, it’s good. I’d not have missed them that much if they tasted bad. Only eat this little nibble though, they’re rather potent this ripe!”

He eats it to be polite and is pleasantly surprised. It’s sweet and fresh, almost fizzing on his tongue, but with a rich honey aftertaste. 

“It’s delicious? The last time I had one it tasted sour.”

“Were the seeds inside still black?” 

That night was still fuzzy in Hux’s mind, but he was sure they had been. 

“I think so. It was frankly... disgusting.”

The woman laughs.

“Aren’t they just? That means the berry was unripe. I nearly threw up the one time I ate an unripe fruit. Absolutely foul! I cursed my sister for days afterwards for tricking me.”

She places the fruit carefully in the box, closes it and seals a ribbon around the edge. 

“The former Supreme Leader told us you and Prince Kylo had been married. Hang on, but if you haven’t had the ripe fruit before…” She looks puzzled. “Was I mistaken?”

“I don’t follow.”

“Only the ripe fruit creates the true marriage bond between two souls. Otherwise, it’s just a mild stomachache and you’d probably pass out from the toxins in the seeds. Wake with a hangover.” 

Hux was shocked. If this was true, it meant they’d never been bonded. But he still missed Kylo every day, and ached to see him, to touch him. How was that possible?

“As you know, Snoke lied about a lot of things. He tried to manipulate Prince Kylo into finding out the secrets of my technology, but I always intended to share them. His attempt at binding us together was just another bid at controlling us.”

The stall owner looks horrified. “Queen Leia was so loved here, and when her accident happened there were days of mourning until we found Prince Kylo had survived, then we had celebrations and we all thanked the stars. People want to see him happy.”

“I’m going to try my best.”

The woman pats his arm. “See that you do. Now go take him that fruit, and remember, they’re potent. Half a fruit is enough for a whole night, if you get my drift.”

She laughs loudly at Hux’s mortified expression as he accepts the small box from her. 

“I was young once too, don’t look so scandalised. Go, be happy. And thank you again for everything you’ve done for us.”

Kylo finds him a few minutes later in the marketplace and Hux shows him the box. 

“I've got good news and some bad news. Good news: I got you a present. Oh, and we’re technically not married.”

Kylo looks hurt. “How is that good news?”

Hux opens the box to reveal the heartberry. “We can have another honeymoon, obviously. The bad news is that we need to plan a wedding.”

\---

It takes a few days for arrangements, but they marry in the courtyard of their new palace, on a raised platform. There are flowers everywhere now, hanging arrangements on windowsills, braided fabric interwoven with leaves on doorways. The citizens of the planet had a lottery to attend the ceremony, the rest are probably watching on screens in their homes and that makes Hux feel even more nervous, to know people are watching him, watching them. 

They say their vows and Hux’s hands won’t stop shaking until Kylo holds them steady. Mitaka stands by Hux’s side, as always. He’s going to take over the day to day running of HuxTech, but Hux will still be their lead engineer. He’s just going to do his work from a palace on Gainmeah instead of the house he grew up in. 

Kylo’s wearing the gauzy fabric of royalty and elaborate jewels of his kingdom and Hux can’t wait to strip him out of them, back to reveal _ his _Kylo underneath. 

Hux and Kylo exchange a small slice of heartberry after the vows are concluded, then a kiss and the crowd goes wild.

\---

A servant has left them refreshments and there’s a full heartberry as the centrepiece, cut into four neat segments.

Kylo picks up two segments and they eat them together, juice dripping down their fingers. It takes a moment or two, and then it’s a slow change, creeping into Hux’s mind like wisps of smoke as another layer of Kylo filters into his awareness.

Kylo touches Hux’s hand and Hux can feel the touch twice: his own skin being touched and touching. 

Kylo licks the spilt heartberry juice off Hux’s wrist, sucks two fingers of his into his mouth to clean them and Hux bites back a moan at the sensation. 

He greedily pulls at Kylo’s wraps. 

“Off, off, off.”

Kylo untwists a strip of fabric, and the entire ensemble loosens and slides off into a pool of black fabric at his feet.

Hux steps forward to touch Kylo then stops, considering.

“Why did you take an age to undress at the lake?”  
“I was teasing you. Trying to seduce you.” 

“I don’t believe you. You were scared of the big, bad lake.”

Kylo nips at his mouth, drags his teeth over Hux’s lower lip and Hux laughs. 

The bond is more intense now, and he can feel every press of his own fingers on Kylo’s skin reflected on his own clothed back and he undresses quickly, and pushes Kylo onto their new bed. There’s a weird moment when he can feel his body give way to gravity, feel the soft mattress under this back but he’s still standing. 

Kylo lies back and Hux crawls over him. There’s a glorious slide of skin against skin in a feedback loop and both gasp at the feeling. Hux wants to stay here forever in Kylo’s arms, to rub his body against his like a cat, to touch and feel all at once.

Kylo’s thinking about Hux’s mouth on his cock and Hux’s moving down the bed before he realises the thought might have been his own. He can’t tell anymore. 

He doesn’t bother teasing Kylo, just opens his mouth and slides down. At the first suck, there’s another weird brief moment of disconnect, but it gives way to waves of pleasure. Kylo’s hands are in his hair, lightly tugging and his mouth is so full. It’s too much and not enough all at once. 

After a few minutes, Kylo’s pulling his hair with purpose now. “Stop, stop, I’m too close.” 

Hux reluctantly stops, and instead passes Kylo a bottle of scented oil, then rolls onto his back and spreads his legs. Kylo coats his fingers, and works one into Hux. 

Hux he wants to tell him how it feels, but he can see Kylo already knows, little flashes of pleasure when his fingers graze his prostate. 

“I’m ready, I’m ready, come on.”

Kylo pushes in slowly, and Hux digs his fingers into the muscle of Kylo's ass, clutching, trying to pull him closer still. 

He buries his face against Kylo’s neck and grins to himself. As if there was anything closer in the galaxy than this, this perfect combination of body and mind.

This was what the stories told of, two people inhabiting one body, one soul, one heart.

Kylo pulls back, then drives back in, both inhale sharply as he thrusts, setting a perfect rhythm and Hux closes his eyes, lost in it. He could feel Kylo’s pleasure in the back of his mind, feel his love and he feels hot and cold all over, ripples of each other’s pleasure hitting into each other, like waves lapping at a lake shore.

He catches a stray thought _ ‘we can do this forever’ _ and that was what sends him over the edge, coming hard onto his own stomach, fingers digging into Kylo’s back. 

Kylo cries out, lost in the feedback from Hux’s orgasm and Hux feels dizzy from the sensations.

Kylo pulls out, and they lie panting on their new bed together for a moment. 

Only a few months previously Hux had accepted he was going to be miserable and alone for the rest of his life. Married to his work and spending his entire life under the rains of Arkanis and Brendol’s thumb, churning out weapons for the highest bidder. 

Now he’s here on sunny Gaineamh, married, living in an actual palace and he can do whatever the hell he wants with the rest of his life and he’s happy. Genuinely happy for the first time in years. It’s a heady feeling, and he’s got Kylo to thank for it.

Kylo sits up. “Want to try out the new shower? There’s no sonic setting, only water.”

Hux takes his hand and they let the water wash them clean, together. 

**Author's Note:**

> Artist on Twitter: @somethingsimp19  
Author on Twitter: @spiteandmalice


End file.
